'If Sir Rude hadn't seen Ellen or the princess, where could they have gone?' I groan to Trifinne who lies with her wings outstretched until they are a thin membrane, releasing a hot leathery stench. I lie under a tent with my armour plates piled beside me. The tension in my shoulders melts into the grass, 'they weren't at the villages and Trifinne would've seen them wandering along the path, even through the top of a dense forest. Her eyesight's better than an eagle's.'

Suddenly, a sultry male's whisper resounds in my ear, 'my, my, I never expected to find Sleeping Beauty with her dragon in the mountains.'

'Ah!' I jump, kicking one of the tent's supports. It collapses, tangling me in its canvas cover. I swim out from the dismantled puddle of sticks and fabric, 'who's there?!' The shadow of a man with long hair streaming behind him looms over me. Could it be Gale?

'Bit risky to doze off, isn't it?' The man leans closer. His hair colour is too light to be Gale's. 'Why don't we get to know each other? Name's Legault.' He is handsomely aged, probably in his 50s based on the creases along his forehead and mouth. The scar running down one side of his face bends when he frowns, 'what's the matter? You look so disappointed.'

'That's because I am.' I wrestle out my armour from under the tent materials. The sun fries my scalp. If only Gale and I could be undertaking this mission together, our first as a wedded couple. I should be proud that we are serving our country, yet I cannot help resenting that the Bern state has separated us.

'Perhaps, honourable knight of Bern, you'd be less glum if I had some information about the whereabouts of Princess Guinevere and the cleric,' Legault squats in front of me with one hand behind his back.

'Do tell!' Trifinne and I sit up like dogs.

'I can't give the information for free. But what if you could give me a payment – like this?' He holds up my ruby circlet and dangles it around one finger.

'Give that back!' I grab my lance and sweep it at his feet.

'Whoa!' He narrowly jumps out of the way, 'I know ladies love their jewellery, but I've never met one prepared to kill for it!'

'That's not just any piece of jewellery,' I keep my lance poised, 'I'd recommend you give it back before anyone gets hurt.'

Legault spins the circlet on the tip of his finger, 'then write me a cheque for one million dollars, Miss Miledy.'

'That's absurd! And how do you know my name?!'

Legault tosses the circlet in the air and catches it around the other wrist, 'you shouldn't let on how much you value your possessions. Bad thieves like me will use it to set the ransom price.'

He throws the circlet back at me like a frisbee. I try to catch but miss. The circlet wheels down the mountain, sending me to chase it like an idiot. By the time I trudge back up, Trifinne has her tail looped around Legault. He laughs while tickling her chin, 'don't worry, I wasn't intending to go through your lady's possessions. I'm not that vulgar.'

'Alright, Legault…' Sweating through every pore in my skin, I fit the circlet back on my head, trying to centre the ruby on my forehead, 'tell me…'

'Sister Ellen mentioned your fiancée— Sir Gale or something. He's not a rich man, is he?' Legault smirks as I try to huff out my request for more information on the princess' location, 'the gold band is too thin and the ruby equally pathetic. I couldn't have sold it for anything.'

'That Ellen...' I reassemble the tent again, 'she's too trusting.'

'Well?' He scratches Trifinne's tail, 'do you miss him?'

'Can you just tell me about the princess?' I struggle to align the supports and canvas properly. Setting up a tent is so much easier when Gale is there to hold one side.

'The princess was captured by Sir Rude. I helped the cleric find General Roy. That was what she and Princess Guinevere wanted,' Legault shakes his empty hands, 'that's all I've got for you.'

'So they were with Sir Rude all that time!' I thump the ground, 'I knew he was being evasive. If only I'd pushed harder. But why did Ellen want to see General Roy of the Lycian army? There's got to be some mistake.'

'I'm just the messenger,' Legault stands up and fishes in his pocket. I sit side-saddle under the tent, watching my fingers curl into fists. The skin around the knuckles stretches. Surely Princess Guinevere isn't going to try negotiations with the Lycian Alliance, is she? They're puppets of the Etrurian government who will interpret any pacifism as an invitation to undermine Bern's independence. Lord Murdock emphasised that point during history and politics seminars.

'Of course, I didn't escort the girl for free,' Legault admires a guiding ring between his fingers. Its green and red stones glimmer in the sun, 'now this will fetch a good price!'

'You made a cleric of the Elimine faith pay you to save her?!' I picture my frightened friend hiding behind her silky brown hair as she surrenders the gift from Father Renault, 'how shameless!'

'I gotta stay afloat somehow,' Legault rests a hand on his hip, 'you know, I was alive during the previous war and fought alongside the Lycian army. Now, I'm wandering around Bern again. People change allegiances for all kinds of reasons.'

'Your point being?' Is Princess Guinevere—? No, she's faithful to Bern. Why would she side with those wishing to harm its independence and ideals? And what would that mean for me if she did? I would have to follow, since my loyalty is to the princess and her judgement.

'That institutions evolve. When they do, you've got to adapt,' Legault lies on his belly in front of the tent, 'also, you picked a bad time to get married. Why don't you leave Sir Gale and go with me instead? Because you're definitely my type.'

'Not a chance,' I unfurl the tent flap to block his face. Legault chuckles outside when Trifinne's shadow shows through the canvas. He tickles her tail with the tip of his shoe. What would Gale think of Princess Guinevere's possible defection— and my readiness to follow her lead?

'Any news about Princess Guinevere's search squad?' Gale asks Murdock as they examine the array of weapons at Anna's Secret Shop in a valley near the Temple of Seals. The shop smells like rust mixed with exotic herbs that seep from potent elixirs and concoctions.

'You were hoping for news about Miledy, weren't you?' Murdock weighs a silver axe in his bear-like hands, 'there's no need to speak in such a roundabout way with me, Gale.'

'You know me too well,' Gale lowers his head like a bashful young boy. After all, Murdock was the one who gave Gale, an Etrurian-born mercenary, the chance to prove himself in the Bern army. Both of them were born commoners.

'It pained me to separate you and Miledy, after what should have been the happiest day for you both,' Murdock places a heavy hand on Gale's shoulder, 'I would have celebrated the marriage like an older brother.'

'Please don't concern yourself with it,' Gale eyes the shopkeeper's swishing ponytail as she angles her head at them, trying to hurry their purchase, 'Bern and the king's survival matter most.'

'If the chance arises, I will send you to help Miledy in her search for the princess,' Murdock dumps a bag of gold coins on the wooden bench. The shopkeeper whips the bag up and warbles 'enjoy your day, gentlemen!'

Murdock waves the shopkeeper farewell before addressing Gale again, 'I suspect Miledy will need your assistance. That way, you can also have some moments together in this... Unpredictable time.'

'What do you mean?' Gale asks. Perhaps Murdock means that either he or Miledy could die at any moment, and not find out until the end of this conflict. With both of them moveable to any of Bern's military bases on the continent, they cannot even exchange letters like they did during Miledy's brief suspension from the army, 'Miledy is a capable wyvern rider. The princess and Sister Ellen couldn't have gone far on foot.'

'Geographically speaking, that's true...' Murdock opens the boulder-like door, gesturing for his subordinate to exit the shop first.

'Is something troubling you, Lord Murdock?' Gale squints as he steps into the sun beaten valley.

'Never mind,' Murdock thinks back to Lurja's prediction about Princess Guinevere's retaliation against King Zephiel. If Lurja doubts Princess Guinevere's loyalty to the Bern state, do those same feelings extend to Miledy? 'Since there's been no news, Miledy will likely start searching the Bern-Ilia border soon.'